Transgender teenager pleads guilty to murder of 12-year-old girl and sharing corpse on Instagram – Washington Examiner

A transgender teenager in Pennsylvania was sentenced to 15 to 40 years in state prison after pleading guilty to charges related to the murder of a 12-year-old girl.

Ash Cooper, who was born Joshua Cooper, pleaded guilty on Thursday to third-degree murder, possession of an instrument of crime, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, according to a release from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

The now 18-year-old Bensalem teenager murdered the young victim, identified as Morgan Connors, on Nov. 25, 2022, after spending time with her in a trailer park.

At one point during the encounter, Cooper gained access to a gun safe belonging to Cooper’s father.

The exact events that led to the girl’s death have not been confirmed, but authorities received a 911 call around 4:11 p.m. detailing a possible homicide and how a juvenile, later identified as Cooper, had taken to Instagram with an “acquaintance,” claiming to have killed someone and showing the parts of a bloodied corpse, according to the release from the district attorney’s office.

“Cooper then asked the acquaintance for assistance with cleaning up the scene and disposing of the body. Police went to the Gibson Road property and as they arrived, they spotted a juvenile running out of the back of the trailer,” the release read.

“Officers entered the residence and observed a deceased juvenile female, later identified as Connors, on the floor of the bathroom with an apparent gunshot wound. There were also indications that substantial steps were taken to clean up the crime scene,” it added.

A perimeter was established, Cooper was taken into custody, and an investigation determined that Cooper had gained access to the gun safe by “replacing the batteries his father had removed to make the combination lock inoperable,” according to the release.

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Along with the 15-to-40-year sentence, Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Finley sentenced Cooper to seven years of probation and ordered the following of all rules and recommendations that come with adult probation and parole.

Cooper will also be subjected to psychological and psychiatric evaluations, the statement noted.

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